Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys (rap-up.com)

Alicia Keys' birth name was Alicia J. Augello Cook. She was born on January 25, 1981 in New York City, New York. Alicia's mother Teresa Augello is Irish and Italian. She worked as a paralegal and an actress, and Alicia's father Craig Cook is of Jamaican descent. Her father was a flight attendant. Alicia's parents separated when she was just two years old. Teresa Augello raised Alicia on her own in an area called Hells Kitchen, an infamous area in New York City with a bad reputation.

When she was seven, she started studying classical music. She was inspired by famous composers like Beethoven, Mozart, and Chopin. When she was sixteen, she graduated with no problems from the Professional Performing Arts School. Alicia was soon accepted into Columbia University. However, she wanted to leave to go after her dream of being a singer. Her first stage name was actually "Alicia Wild," which was later on changed to "Alicia Keys."

Alicia Keys started with Columbia Records. There she made a single called "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing) which was included in the 1997 soundtrack of the movie Men in Black. However, Alicia wanted to sign up with Arista Records but Alicia wanted to do her own thing. Clive Davis eventually took Alicia into his very own label J Records, making her happy with being in control of her songs and her music, and her career. In the 2000s, Alicia Keys had made two singles "Rock Wit U" used in the "Shaft" soundtrack and "Rear View Mirror" which was part of the "Dr. Dolittle 2" movie soundtrack. These singles brought her fame at only 20 years old.

Alicia Keys won in the categories of Song of the Year and Best New Artist in the Grammy Awards during year 2002. What makes her different from other popular R & B artists like Destiny's Child is that she use different types of instruments and also writes her own songs with very little, and sometimes, NO outside help at all!

Alicia Keys got married to Swizz Beatz in southern Italy. They eventually had a baby boy. They named him Egypt.

I picked her as my hero because she is my favorite singer. She challenges herself to play the piano. I think she a very powerful person like me. I think her childhood is similar to mine. My parents also separated when i was little.